Liz McManus (Wicklow, Labour)
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Question 79: To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs if negotiations under way with political parties in Northern Ireland towards the re-establishment of the institutions created under the Good Friday Agreement are proceeding on the basis of the December 2004 comprehensive agreement; the status of the comprehensive agreement at present; if the changes it proposed, [i]inter alia[/i], in the functioning of the Executive and the assembly remain the basis on which negotiations are proceeding; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [26840/05]

Dermot Ahern (Louth, Fianna Fail)
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The proposals for a comprehensive agreement, published by the two Governments on 8 December 2004 covered the key issues that must be resolved to finally and definitively assure peace and political stability in Northern Ireland, as the Taoiseach said at that time. They were made public to clarify the context within which the Governments had been working with the parties in Northern Ireland with a view to facilitating the restoration of partnership government and the full implementation of the Good Friday Agreement.

As the Deputy is aware, it did not prove possible to reach agreement on the proposals in December 2004. The primary reasons for this were the fact that the IRA was unwilling to commit itself to ending criminal activity clearly and definitively and the lack of consensus on the transparency elements of the decommissioning process.

Furthermore, developments in the immediate aftermath of the publication of the proposals such as the Northern Bank robbery and the murder of Robert McCartney meant that the context within which there could be any renewed engagement with the parties on proposals to restore the institutions no longer existed. It was clear at that time that it would not be possible to make further progress until that context changed. The Government underlined this point in its meeting with Sinn Féin on 25 January.

More recently, however, there have been a number of significant positive developments, in particular the IRA statement of 28 July announcing an end to its armed campaign and the welcome report of the Independent International Commission on Decommissioning on 26 September confirming that the IRA had put all of its weapons beyond use. These developments clearly represent important progress toward the restoration of an appropriate context within which engagement with the political parties can take place to secure a basis for the full operation of the institutions of the agreement. We hope that the IMC reports to be submitted to both Governments later this month and in January 2006 will further enhance the prospects for productive re-engagement.

Given that agreement was not reached on the proposals for a comprehensive agreement in December, they cannot be said to have formal standing. However the package published at that time represents the outcome of the most recent negotiations on the restoration of partnership government. As such, it remains an important reference point for future consultation and engagement with all political parties in Northern Ireland once the necessary conditions are in place.